Yesterday we looked at an eyewitness account of Scientology leader David Miscavige’s presentation at the L. Ron Hubbard birthday event which took place on March 13 in Clearwater, Florida. But there’s still another account of Miscavige’s speechmaking that we thought you’d want to see.
It’s the official praise of Miscavige’s New Year’s Eve performance, which also took place at the auditorium of the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, and it comes from the most recent Impact magazine, which we previously mined for information about Scientology’s biggest donors.
It’s always interesting to read about Dave’s specific boasts. And with no evidence that membership is actually growing, we find yet again that Scientology’s actual “expansion” is based on two concepts: Dave’s increasing real estate portfolio, and his ability to get existing Scientologists to fork over large donations. Let us know which of his claims stand out most.
We found the brag about the new AO in Mexico City to be interesting: As we’ve pointed out recently, based on actual evidence of videos posted at its website, outside the US Scientology is largely becoming a phenomenon in Mexico and Taiwan.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE FUTURE
Patrons from six continents donned their black-tie finest and made their way to the Flag Auditorium for an exhilarating, eye-opening, emotion-packed event that Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, Mr. David Miscavige, described as “the most appropriate way to end this year.”
The New Year’s Patron Awards Celebration kicked off with a video that highlighted the worldwide buzz about the event and a promise to “wake up the world.” When Mr. Miscavige took center stage, well, the ovation rocked the Auditorium, and what he previewed over the next couple of hours would indeed soon reverberate around the globe.
He opened with a recap of all that’s been accomplished this past year, starting with a series of highest evers. Thanks to the Stay Well program and OT bubbles, Scientologists have been progressing up the Bridge without interruption. Over the past year, there were nearly a million Solo Well Done Auditing Hours delivered; Flag made 35,000 grade and rundown completions; and on the Freewinds, every week another person attested to New OT VIII.
There was even more to celebrate as Chairman of the Board gave the audience a preview of a future filled with expansion, with Ideal Orgs rolling forward in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Paris, along with what will be the largest Advanced Org on Earth in Latin America. Currently there are over half a million square feet of construction now underway — breaking pre-pandemic records — and another 2 million square feet are moving through planning. And if it wasn’t already obvious that coasting in neutral wasn’t an option, as Mr. Miscavige pointed out, “I am not taking my foot off the gas. In fact, I intend on pressing it right through the floorboards!”
He then turned to the honorees of the night, the Patrons of the IAS, those who have provided the fuel in this drive toward expansion. “That is the substance of why the most appropriate way to end this year is my thank you to all of you… Every contribution makes a difference. Be you an Annual Member, a Lifetime Member, a Sponsor, Crusader or Patron of every level ascending to the stars, your contribution does help — it does make a difference.”
Acknowledging those whose dedication and energy is laying the ground for “our greatest future yet,” Mr. Miscavige began the awards presentation by recognizing the record number of members who stepped forward over the past year — with 1,250 ascending the ranks of Patrons.
He individually honored those who advanced to Gold, Platinum, Diamond and above with personal introductions that captured the essence of their character, their accomplishments and their dedication. With each award, the crowd’s ovation grew louder and louder, and when Mr. Miscavige presented those who reached the rarefied heights of Laureate, Maximus and Invictus, the Auditorium was filled with thunderous applause.
The sense of camaraderie, pride and gratitude filled the air. As Platinum Meritorious Rob DeMott later said, “It is amazing to see everyone together, stepping up and creating a new civilization. We are not slowing down, but pushing through no matter what.”
With a nod to the future, Mr. Miscavige drew the event to a close with a peek at large-scale projects in the pipeline that contributions to the IAS are making possible. So this year, when much of the world has been in pandemic limbo, we made great strides toward creating a better world.
He then previewed the centerpiece of a massive IAS-sponsored dissemination campaign, the latest Scientology ad, “We Are Giants,” which has since aired during the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.
With IAS members stepping forward in ever-greater numbers and expansion projects rolling inexorably forward, the future of Scientology is looking very bright indeed as we usher in the New Year.
And because he made such a big deal about them, we’ll include the list of Patrons ($50,000 in donations) from the magazine, which we had left out last time. Let us know if you recognize any names. Let’s give these Patrons a Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Jarron Adney
Lucien Ah Hot
Eva-Maija Ahokas & Johku
The Akimoto Family
Francisco Aleixo
The Alvarado Family
The Andres Justi Family
The Antoniazzi Pellegrini Family
The Ashby Family
Farid Assmar Gonzalez
Simon Ayotte & Jocelyne Leclerc
Jose Juan Barbeito & Begona Sanchez
Larry & Andrea Beall
The Beaumont Family
Kevin Bennier
Marcela Betanzos & Adrian Rotonda
The Billington-Khoury-Wohrnitz Family
Gian Marco Bizzoni & Maria Tesa Bracci
The Boone Family
Traci Boya
Veronique Braunstein & John Thomas Fiongos
The Busch Family
Kingsley Bye
The Calo, Orlando, Preiss, Telesca & Ciaccio Family
Rob & Bella Campbell
Mary Kay Carr
The Carrillo Family
Dylan Caudullo
Allan Chambers
The Hui Hua Chen & Pei-Ching Wang Family
The Po-Chung Chen & Tkach Family
The Cleal Family
The Cobelli & Sesana Family
Andrea Angelo Colla
Lourdes Collado & Family
The Colombo Family
Jennifer & Nicholas Costello
Michael Craig & Jarratt Smith
Tom Dalonzo-Baker & Khaelen Royce
Gerben de Jong
The Dementov & Khodortsov Family
Rick & Sylvaine-Paris Dickson
The Alfonso Di Donato Family
Francoise Diggelmann
Dory Dileo & Francy Zanardi
Donna, Jay & Alexandra Dockendorff
The Donnell Family
Ellen Dorsett & Phil Gingrid
Brian DuBose
The Ellen, Corcose & Rice Family
The Estabrook & Caso Family
Marilyn Ewing
The Ferrari Family
The Franchini Family
The Francoeur-Cloutier Family
The Fois-Rotta-Coccoda Family
Giulio Fraticelli & Family
Michael & Brittany Gatta
The Gatti, Brescianini & Vavassori Family
The Fabiono Ghera Family
Leah & Alan Gilbertson
Gary & Adrienne Goodman
Karin & Christian Grau
The Guillard Popa Howard Family
Carol Gulasa & Family
James & Joose Hadley
The Harris Family
Allesandra Harris
James, Lydia, Reese & Sienna Harrison
Richard Haun
Raul & Ana Lucia Hawit and Family
Adam & Susan Heft
Csilla & Jozsef Hegyi
The Hermansen Family
Weston Hinkell
The Hosoya Family
Kathi Horton
Arnold Huber
The Ianna Weber Family
Francoise Jacqmin
Stevens Jacques & Family
Daniel Jacquier
Dilan, Jennifer & Amari Jayasingha
Patricia & Dana Julian
Tamas Kasza & Family
Gregory Kauffman & Ruth Martin
Chantelle Kennedy & Family
Boris & Marianne Kessler
Minae Kim and Chuyeon & Hose Song
Christa Kinds
Jeremiah & Lauren Kitamura
Hans, Sarah, Marion & Beatrix Kleber
The Ladd Family
Richard Lallemand
Mason Lane
The Lebovitch-Moiguer Family
The Lee Family
Alessandro Leoni
Jocelyn Lepine
Dave Le Sueur
Mitch Leventhal
Linda & Hartmut Lierow
Chu-Yu Lin
Hsiang Ching Carolyn Lin
Antonio, Daniela, Giada Locilento Family
The Lussi Family
The Ke Cheng Ma & Chi Hui Tseng Family
The Maday, Fiset & Demange Families
Ed Maher
Veronica Mantilla Villaruel & Noemi M. Cajo Mantilla
The Marchetti, Cigala, Mor Family
The Marcon Family
James Marrs & Family
Ana Martinez
Carolin Mayer
Philipp Mayer
The Mazzoleni Family
Janice McCauley
The McLaws-Benson Family
Ian & Lucy McIlroy
Ron McKenzie
Michael McKeogh
Paul Meisel
The Minniss Family
The Carmela Miraldi Family
Elena Mitskevich
Ugo Moi
Pamela D. Moniz
Francoise Monier
Barb Morandin
The Mosher Family
Eric Adan & Marilu Munoz Canton
Sumbul Naqvi
The Lanaro, Nardi & Bennat Family
Pieter Nel
David L. & David C. Norman
Valentina Obrdovic
Daniel Okle & Family
The Okudaira Family
Tim Hemi & Kecia O’Sullivan
The Ozorak Family
Rahmi & Rosa Ozsan
Charles Pabst & Annora Ayer
Frederic & Zoe Pascal
Tal Pechner
Ray Peck & Sheri Holden-Peck
Christian Pejout
The Pepponi Family
Scott & Kim Pesch
The Petry Family
Helen Therese Pinder
The Pineda Landa, Castelan & Kelley Family
Ildiko & Akos Pintye
Juhani & Kaija Pitkanen
Nadezhda Pokrovskaya
Gerg Polzl
The Prete, Leone & Orru Family
Fanny Quirino & Family
Sue Rabin
Sarah Reay
Jon Gudbrand Refseth
Jim & Mary Refvern
Riccardo Reina
Mary Reitze
Ellen Reynolds
Stephen Ridley
The Righi Family
The Rodella Di Marino Family
Antonina Rome & Family
Yael Ronen
The Rullan Family
Mary E. Rush
The Ryan Family
Claudia Sagretti
Christian Salas Lopez
The Saunderson Family
Igor Savko & Anna Kasianenko
Patricia M. Schlageck
The Schleifer Family
Henning Schmidtke
Andy & Paige Schwarz
Susumu Senda
Mahryah & Cydney Shain
Yutuka Shimada
Bolat Shukaev
Tasha, Aaron & Sabrie Siepierski
The Skifteri Melchioro Family
The Jon Smith Family
Greg & Melissa Sola
The Sorotsky Family
Eric & Mariette Stratton
Nacko Sugimoto
The Sullivan Family
Peter Szecsi
Tatsuya & Ikue Takahashi
The Tapia Family
Gabor Tasnadi & Szilvia Schmidt
Simon Thiara
Steven & Lynie Thomas
The Tidhar Family
The Tinti & Goffi Family
The Toftness Family
The Cynthia Torres Family
Masayo Toyomura
Imre & Anne Tozser
Porzia Tristano
Bert & Marcia Trussell
Kazuki, Saori & Kahoru Umeda
Joe & Lyndsey Ursini
Cesar, Erika & Emma Rose Villarreal
Thomas Vojnivich & Amber Bryant
The Vorobiov Family
The Wegener Family
Mike & Anna Weilgart
Diana & Jurgen Wenglein
Judd Wenzel
Ulrich Witte
The Hao Yu & Pei Hua Tsai Family
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“We need, then, a peaceful planet. So I worked this out originally as…what became the name of the project: International City Project. Well, I…finally came to the conclusion that if all the capitals of the world were located inside one city that they were not likely to bomb each other out, that they, in effect, would be very careful of declaring war. They would be close cheek by jowl enough to discuss most of their problems…Now, you take every capital of the world and treat it accordingly and then treat it in such a way that transport within the capital is very fast and so that each and every section and center of the capital has some of its own atmosphere rather easily planned up, by the way. It isn’t just a sprawling mess…So Wendell Willkie came out with something he called One World, and practically everybody shot him down in his tracks. He was a pioneer in this particular field. But nevertheless this idea has become more and more popular and it’s actually sweeping in that direction. The first step would have to be you’d have to persuade all governments to turn over all atomic weapons, stocks, control of atomic manufacturers to the United Nations at once, you see. Second step is persuade the United Nations and all governments to select a site for and construct an International City, preferably in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast where land reclamation can expand its area and where its communication lines can be easily centered for Earth. Third step: Persuade all governments to remove their capitals to International City complete with heads of government, congresses and parliaments. Prohibit a secondary capital or even a communication relay center within the country itself.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 24, 1964
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“TELEXES are meant to be answered the same day; when answered, they go to the ‘Telexes In’ basket in the Comm Bu. Deadline 2300 hrs. Even if they cannot be answered immediately, they should be returned to this basket, as these telexes go up to LRH for his viewing after 2300. These unanswered telexes will then be returned for answering.” — Org Off Bu IV, March 24, 1971
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“The point is not to evaluate who is a squirrel or what groups are squirrel. The point is that they tell the truth about their training and the source of their programs. As long as the PC/Client is aware of what is the true training and the source of their processes, some of the auditors invent their own rundowns. If the person is fully aware and still wants to go ahead and accepts that, it’s up to them. I have seen PCs who don’t care if the person is doing their own invented processes, or Internet auditing, etc. The point it’s not to control what is going on, but to detect who is perpetrating fraud and report them. That way PCs, students and clients know the risks. In other words what is their ethics status.”
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1998: Scientology sent PR director Leisa Goodman to St. Bartholemew’s to harass Bob Minton this week. They distributed a flyer in the area, which was also distributed in Boston. “Mr Minton vacations in luxury while charging his mother who lives on social security interest on a loan when he has millions of dollars at his disposal Mr Minton exploited the people of third world countries, manipulating their debt to make millions for himself and the rulers in power. Mr Minton refuses to help his own son with a loan to purchase a house but forked over 1.5 million to fund the members of a known hate group in a campaign to create intolerance and hatred. Mr Minton acts like a bully to anyone he can manipulate with his money, his second wife left him rather than put up with his brutal beatings. Mr Minton buys people with his money and is financially supporting a ring which includes wife beaters, child molesters and a pornography editor.”
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“I went to the Scientology rebuttal site for ‘Going Clear’ and it’s almost as long as the book! They start fairly low-keyed and then next thing I knew they were inferring that Dave Touretzky was trying to get people to bomb Scientology orgs. They can’t control the crazy for too long.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference March 25 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for April 8.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Hearing held on February 15, awaiting ruling.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Danny Masterson holds on to his passport as judge decides he’s no flight risk
[TWO years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige calls the pandemic ‘planetary bullbait’ in epic briefing
[THREE years ago] TOM CRUISE THANKED BY DAUGHTER ISABELLA IN BIZARRE SCIENTOLOGY PROMO
[FOUR years ago] Leah Remini talks ‘Aftermath,’ developing a new show, and more with Chris Shelton
[FIVE years ago] DREAM LAWSUIT: ‘God of Pop’ Kuba Ka vs the Church of Scientology. THANK XENU, IT’S ON!
[SIX years ago] Chris Shelton: How Scientologists can use critical thinking to break free
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’: Paul Haggis pens a description of the Scientology experience you won’t forget
[EIGHT years ago] Jillian Schlesinger says Scientology now ‘sneakier’ about forcing abortions
[NINE years ago] It’s Ron’s Birthday, And Your Present is More Scientology Stuff to Spend Money On!
[TEN years ago] Scientology 451: Commenters of the Week!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,613 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,118 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,638 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,658 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,549 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,856 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,724 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,498 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,829 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,302 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,618 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,184 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,103 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,271 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,852 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,113 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,149 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,864 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,389 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 744 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,919 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,470 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,619 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,939 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,794 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,913 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,269 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,572 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,678 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,076 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,952 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,535 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,030 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,284 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,393 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 24, 2022 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
